I'm writing to commend many aspects of Community Hospice in Verona and offer a bit of constructive criticism for dealing with future patients. First I would like to thank the night staff , Anne Feelsen and Carolyn Harrison, for the loving care they gave Mother the last night of her life. They were professional and caring and came in every two hours to turn Mother, swab her mouth and see to her needs. I'd also like to compliment the cleanliness of the facility and friendliness of the staff. On the other hand, I felt that my Mother could have been kept more comfortable during her 8 nights there. She was dying of thirst--a very painful death where the kidneys stop functioning. Before she went into the final stages of death, I would request pain medications when I'd see her grimace and squirm and Jess would tell me that wasn't appropriate because she wasn't actively dying and then when she was actively dying she would tell me that they couldn't give her pain medication because it might shorten her life. When I called from Georgia to see what her schedule of pain medication was , she told me it was every 6 hours and then the next day the day nurses would tell me that wasn't the schedule she was on. One day Mother screamed out in pain---several loud words. I went to the front desk where three nurses were visiting and they said they heard it----and asked if that was my mother---They didn't bother to come check. Perhaps if they had been turning her every two hours during the day, they would have seen that she was in pain. I was accused of trying to shorten my Mother's life. I never left her the last 18 hours of her life and was holding her hand when she took her last breath. I certainly only had her best interests at heart. I have only heard wonderful reports about Hospice and it's goal of providing a painless end of life for the terminally ill. I feel guilty and overwhelmed with grief that I couldn't get that for my 92 year old Mother. I hope other daughters/sons and their Mothers have a better experience and that is the spirit in which I am passing this on. Sincerely, Diane Klyce Thomas

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